This here is a typical Dutch winter stew. Kinda like the Dutch version of Boeuf Bourguignon. I think you’d be hard pressed to find a Dutchman who didn’t grow up on hachee in some way. Mainly family recipes. Nowadays it’s near impossible to miss the scent coming from kitchens all over town when walking down the streets of Gouda.

My guess is we blatantly stole the name from the French hâché. Doesn’t make it any less good though. It’s a hearty and laid back beef and onion stew that is traditionally served with (mashed) potatoes and braised red cabbage.

This one’s for your comfort food deluxe file and believe me when I say that the time spent on cooking this will be well worth it. Just put it on your stove on a lazy and cold Sunday afternoon and forget all about it until the scent of Holland fills up your house.

If you have trouble finding bouillon cubes that don’t contain MSG, try the whole food shop. They usually have an even more amazing variety including tomato bouillon cubes that are to die for! Well, not literally.

Spike the stew with 2 tbsp molasses (or appelstroop). When you’re in the Netherlands I urge you to add a crumbled up piece of ontbijtkoek. It’s divine.

Two or three bay leaves and one fresh rosemary sprig. I think the rosemary makes a huge difference.

Depending on how salty the bouillon cubes are add a little extra salt. Remember you can always add more later. I stuck to a tsp.

Bring it to a boil. Put the lid on and forget all about it for the next, say 2 and a half to 3 hours. You can stir now and then if you really want to, though.

Here’s what mine looked like after 3 hours. Still a bit high on liquid and we want that to be more of a gravy, so I took the lid off and let it cook down.

Keep in mind that the longer you’ll cook this stew, the better it will taste! So it’s a perfect stew for your slowcooker as well.

Here’s my personal preference. I use my masher to break up the beef. Then I let it simmer for another 30 to 45 minutes until the gravy had the consistency I was looking for. Check the seasoning and add pepper! A generous amount.

Discard the bay leaves, rosemary sprig, cloves and peppercorns. If you can find them, that is.

This was a quick shot taken right at my dinner table: mashed up aromatic beef, gravy, red cabbage and fluffy mashed potatoes. This is the life.

Hachee freezes very well, so cook a double batch if you like easy access later on!

Cut the beef in 1 inch cubes, pat dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Dice the onions. peel and dice the apples.

Heat the butter and brown the beef a few pieces at a time. transfer them all to a Dutch oven and cook the onion until slightly brown and translucent.

Spoon 3 tbsp flour on top, stir in and let it cook for a minute. Add the tomato paste and give it an extra minute. Pour in enough water to submerge the meat.

Add the rest of the ingredients and season with a pinch of salt. Simmer the stew for 3 hours. Use a masher to break up the beef if you like. Simmer for another 30 to 45 minutes without the lid on until the gravy is thick enough for you.

It’s rainy and grey outside. Perfect weather for a big pot of soul-warming chili. And so it happened; I cooked the first chili of the season marking autumn’s official arrival. Sorry to those of you mourning the end of summer, but I love this time of year. When it gets so chilly you have to light the fireplace (a fireplace DVD counts, right?) and lots of candles at night. When…